JUDGMENT CALL — Anna Kepner’s Mom Blasts Father
Anna Kepner’s estranged mother is speaking out, blasting her ex-husband for allowing the “creepy” sixteen-year-old stepbrother to stay in the cabin where the cheerleader was later killed. “This should never have happened,” she said, tears in her eyes.
Despite threats from other family members, she attended Anna Kepner’s memorial, determined to honor her daughter’s memory. Sources say Anna had warned friends and relatives about her stepbrother’s controlling and obsessive behavior, but adults dismissed her fears.
Investigators are now piecing together CCTV footage and witness statements, showing the horrifying moments leading up to Anna Kepner’s death.
Click the link below to read the full story, including what her mother revealed about the night no one protected Anna Kepner.👇
Anna Kepner’s estranged mom blasts father for letting ‘creepy’ stepbrother stay in room where cheerleader was ‘killed’
Anna Kepner’s defiant mother said she attended her daughter’s memorial despite threats from the family
THE biological mother of Anna Kepner, the cheerleader killed on a Carnival Cruise Line ship, has scolded her ex-husband’s decision to allow her daughter to stay in the same room as her stepbrother.
Kepner, 18, died of asphyxiation after being viciously suffocated from a chokehold in her cabin on board Carnival’s Horizon cruise while vacationing with her family through the Caribbean.
Anna Kepner was a high school senior who had aspirations of joining the US Army after graduatingCredit: Instagram
Heather Wright, Kepner’s biological mother, scolded her estranged ex-husband’s decision-making that led to her daughter’s deathCredit: TikTok
A family photo showing Anna Kepner, her father Christopher, and her stepmom, ShauntelCredit: Facebook/Shauntel Kepner
The FBI has not disclosed information surrounding Kepner’s death, nor has it named a suspect in the case, which has been ruled a homicide.
Kepner’s stepbrother, 16, was identified as a suspect in the killing, the boy’s parents revealed in court filings for an unrelated custody battle.
The high school cheerleader was sharing a cabin with her stepbrother, and another young siblings when a housekeeper found her body wrapped in a blanket, covered with life jackets, and stuffed under a bed.
The 16-year-old boy, described by his family as being an “emotional mess,” was briefly taken into custody but was eventually released to live with a relative while FBI officials continue their investigation.
Heather Wright, Kepner’s biological mother, has been estranged from her daughter and her ex-husband for several years.
Wright, who now lives in Oklahoma, said she learned about her daughter’s death on Google.
The mother has been at war with her ex-husband and Kepner’s biological dad, Christopher, who she claims has painted her a villain.
Wright criticized her estranged ex for allowing their daughter to share a cabin with her stepbrother.
“Why am I the bad guy? He put them in the same room together,” Wright told Fox News.
Wright previously told NBC affiliate WESH that she was asked by the family not to attend her daughter’s memorial.
However, she defiantly told Fox News she attended the memorial despite the family’s threats.
“They said I never went, but I did,” she told the outlet.
“I didn’t want to be seen, so I made sure no one seen me, plus they can’t stop me from going anyway, even though Chris said he would have me arrested for back child support.”
UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
On the night of November 6, Kepner returned to her room early after telling her family at dinner that she was unwell.
Surveillance footage from inside the Horizon that was recovered by investigators showed Kepner heading back to her room that evening, the Daily Mail previously reported.
The video reportedly showed Kepner enter the room but she never resurfaced.
A short while later, Kepner’s step-brother and other sibling also returned to the cabin.
The younger sibling left the room and wandered the vessel, taking photos along the way.
Anna Kepner’s body was reportedly wrapped in a blanket, covered with life jackets, and stuffed under a bedCredit: Instagram
The sibling returned to the room and noticed Kepner was missing.
However, the young child did not have any nefarious thoughts, suspecting Kepner was out late with other family members, and went to sleep, according to the outlet.
It was not until the following morning that the family grew concerned about Kepner after she failed to show up when the relatives gathered for breakfast.
The victim’s father, Christopher, desperately searched the enormous 1,055-foot vessel, which can fit nearly 4,000 passengers, but was unable to locate her.
Kepner’s body was eventually discovered by a housekeeper who entered her cabin to clean it on the morning of November 7.
The FBI, which took over the investigation because Kepner died on international waters between Mexico and Florida, are still unclear as to what led up to the fatal incident.
Timeline of Anna Kepner’s death
Anna Kepner was a high school senior and cheerleader when she found dead on board a Carnival Cruise ship on November 7.
Timeline:
Nov. 2: Carnival Cruise Line’s Horizon disembarks the Port of Miami to begin its six-day journey through the the Carribean, with stops in Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel, Mexico, before sailing back to Florida.
Nov. 6: Anna Kepner’s family said the 18-year-old teen was with them during the evening, but returned to her room early after telling them she was not feeling well.
Nov. 7: Kepner’s relatives grew concerned after the teenager failed to show up when the family gathered for breakfast that morning.
Nov. 7, 11:17 am: A housekeeper reportedly located Kepner’s body under a bed in her cabin as the family searched the enormous vessel.
Nov. 8: The Carnival Cruise’s Horizon returned to the Port of Miami after Kepner’s body was discovered. The ship was enroute to Mexico but rerouted to Miami.
Officials with the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office board the vessel after it docked in Miami and removed Kepner’s body.
The FBI takes over the investigation as Kepner died on international waters.
Nov. 9: Kepner’s family breaks silence in a statement to ABC News, mourning the teen as someone who would light up any room she walked into.
Nov. 17: Kepner’s stepmom filed an emergency motion in an unrelated custody hearing with her ex-husband indicating the FBI is considering a “criminal case” against a young relative.
The ex-husband of Kepner’s stepmom filed a separate emergency motion revealing that a 16-year-old stepsibling is considered “a suspect” in the “death of the step child during the cruise.”
The 16-year-old “suspect” was briefly placed into custody before being released.
The young relative is currently staying with a third party at an unknown location.
Nov. 21: Kepner was suffocated to death from a chokehold, according to ABC News.
Nov. 24: The teenager’s death was reportedly ruled a homicide.
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